Films in the Indian Cinema have definitely evolved over the last few years. Everything has changed; this includes new technology used by directors, research done by the director and his team and even the actors’ style and their efforts to portray a role. Scripts have also changed; directors have started dealing with more mature subjects. However unfortunately, just like certain aspects of filmmaking in bollywood have changed for the better, there are also certain aspects that have deteriorated. For example the overture of sex and sleaze in bollywood films have increased over the last few years. Often sleaze and skin show is used to camouflage a bad script. Another important aspect that has witnessed a steady fall in the last few years is dialogues in Hindi films. It is not that all films have corny or the usual double meaning dialogues, but simply a lack of creativity in the use of pure and refreshing Hindi dialogues from dialogue writers. In an age where dialogues with a sexual undercurrent are often substituted for romance, Yash-Raj Films in Fanaa have come up with refreshingly beautiful and pure dialogues that have managed to captivate the audiences and leave them yearning for more. Kunal Kohli who is also the director has penned the dialogues of the film. The dialogues have a substantial amount of beautiful shayari in them. Shayari is often used when one wishes to express deep emotions in words. They are praises in the form of poetry. It is a combination of Hindi, Urdu and Arabic. The Urdu or Persian language sounds beautiful and often makes use of words that have a rhythmic tune and sound to it. In Fanaa, Aamir and Kajol use shayaris in a charismatic and enigmatic way. Shayaris always have a deeper meaning when one understands its use.

In the film Fanaa, Aamir often woos his ladylove with beautiful shayaris and Kajol too uses shayaris to banter with the man of her dreams. Aamir uses shayari in the film to express emotions that he feels, as he cannot express his feelings with mere words. The shayaris used in the film transport us back to a time where dialogues were soothing to the ears and were of a high quality. In the film Kajol too uses shayaris in a witty manner, in a lighter tone. Romantic shayaris have been used in abundance in the film to enhance the romantic mood. Also in the film Kajol and Aamir recite the shayaris in their own voice, which is clear and captivating. Aamir infuses passion into the shayaris with the manner in which he delivers the words.

The meaning of this beautiful verse in English is “Oh God, today you decide this, either you make her mine or make me hers, I have borne a lot of suffering at least now give me some happiness in my destiny, I find it very difficult to stay away from her, please make this separation period less. However far she decided to go from me, bring her that close to me. If you have not written her name in my destiny, then end my life and destroy me in the name of love.” Unfortunately when a shayari is translated into English a lot of its main essence and flavor is lost. There is no flow of words, rhythm and lilt as seen in an original shayari.

Another popular shayari heard throughout the film is “Tere dil mein meri saanson ko panah mil jaaye, Tere ishq mein meri jaan fanaa ho jaayea.” Many shayaris have the title words Fanaa in them which reiterate the climax of the film. In the film, Kajol plays the role of a blind girl, and there is a shayari which speaks on the eyes being the window to love. It goes “Ankhein to pyar mein dilki zuban hoti hai, sachi chahat to sada bezuban hoti hai, pyar mein dard bhi mile to kya gabrana, suna hai dard se chahat aur jawan hoti hai.” The shayaris also make use of opposites like zuban-bezuban. In the film one also gets to hear witty shayari’s like “Phool hun gulaab ka, chameli ka mat samajhnaa, Aashiq hun aapka, apni saheli ka mat samajhna.” This one has been used when Aamir who plays an incorrigible flirt in the film is flirting with Kajol’s friend, but recites this shayari for Zooni Ali.

In the film Rehaan, a tour guide decides to take the blind Zooni sightseeing in Delhi, but Zooni cannot see and hence he shows her Delhi in a completely different manner. Rehaan knows there’s something very special about Zooni. But she is in Delhi only for four days and so Rehaan says “Dur Humse Jaa Paoge Kaise, Humko bhool paoge kaise, Hum woh kuhshbu jo saanson mein utar jaaye, khud apni saanxon ko rok paoge kaise.” There is a scene where Aamir bunks work to take Zooni around town, but Zooni sends him back to work, the next day however she waits for Aamir although he has said that he won’t come. He finally comes and says “Bekhudi ki zindagi hum jiya nahi karte, yun kisika jam hum piya nahi karte, unse kehdo Mohabbat ka izhaar aakar khud karein, yun kisika peecha hum nahi kartea.”

The dialogues make a strong impact amongst audiences. The use of shayaris adds a lot of depth to the dialogues. There are funny, witty and even romantic shayaris in the film which blends well with all the situations. The script of the film, the acting and direction are no doubt good, but it is these shayaris that are the heart and soul of the film as one tends to remember them much after the film has ended. Directors should take a cue from Kunal Kohli, when we possess such rich language and culture we do not need to pass of crude language as dialogues. Truly a commendable job by Kunal Kohli, dialogue writer and director.